Sport

'No future split'

( left - right ) Brian Lara and Chris Gayle - file photos

COLOMBO, CMC

WEST INDIES TEAM manager Tony Howard says that he does not anticipate any divisions in the regional team once the current dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) is settled.

"Several years ago when a similar event occurred in the Kerry Packer series, I didn't hear of any lingering things and I don't think it should be so now," Howard told CMC Sports recently.

"Some chose to (sign), some not. As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of that. Once they become available again, it's a matter for people to decide if they want to play or if they don't want to play."

West Indies selectors were forced to choose a depleted side for the current two-Test tour of Sri Lanka after the WICB and WIPA failed to reach an agreement over sponsorship fees for the tour.

This meant that several regular players, including star batsman Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle, all missed the tour.

Several members of the West Indies A team however signed tour contracts, creating some tension in a squad that had said it would stand in solidarity with the senior players.

The WICB dispatched Howard to Sri Lanka ahead of the senior team tour but he denies having pressured players to sign contracts.

"I don't see that at all," he said. "My job was simply to address the team as a group, which I did. I offered each of them the same availability to sign if they so desired. Some of them did, some of them didn't."